Ed Comes Clean
by Skrita
Summary: Ed is having trouble admitting who he is dating to Al, so Al suggests 20 questions! Implied RoyEd. Rated T to be safe.


Disclaimer: Is it really necessary?

***

"It's... it's..."

"C'mon brother! You can't say you're going to tell me then not tell me!"

Edward Elric gulped and looked at his brother Alphonse. He wanted desperately to say it, but wasn't sure how well the younger would take it.

"Is it someone I know?"

Ed nodded.

"Alright, then I have an idea. Let's do Twenty Questions! Will that make it easier?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Alright, let's see. Is she blond?"

Ed winced at the question and shook his head. Technically, the question didn't really apply, but he wasn't going to say anything unless Al asked. That was the main rule of the game right? Right.

With a smirk, Al asked, "Taller than you?"

"WHO YOU CALLIN SO SHORT EVEN THE GIRLS ARE ALL TALLER THAN HIM?!?!"

Al chuckled. "Ed..."

"..._Yes_," was the grudgingly mumbled response.

"Does her hair have pink in it?"

"NO!" Knowing exactly who Al was thinking about only made it worse.

"Okay...hmm....brown hair? ...Red?" Ed responded in the negative to both.

"Geez, the list is getting real short real fast. How about black hair then?"

"...yeah. That's six now."

"I know, I know. Is she...oh! Is she in the military?"

"Yes."

Al's eyes widened in shock. "_LIEUTENANT ROSS?!"_

"Aaaal...it's not Lt _Ross_!"

Al sighed in exasperation. "Ed, I don't know any other women in the military with black hair. I need a hint."

Ed glanced at Al hesitantly, trying not to appear nervous as he looked for signs of instability in the younger. He really wasn't sure if this would set his little brother off or not, but certainly didn't want to be around if it did. "...Fine...fine..." _How to say this delicately?_ "Um...I think you're making assumptions about...the person."

Al's eyes narrowed. Assumptions? He hadn't made any assumptions, had he? And why did he say "person?" The gender neutral word made it sound...like...

As the lightbulb went off in his head, Al's eyes grew to the size of plates.

"Oh! Ooooh! I didn't know you swung that way brother!"

"_AAAAAL!!!"_

"No, no, it's ok, really! ...I think." Seeing his brother's stricken face, Al was quick to put things straight. "No, it's not like that! It's just...I've never really..._considered _you batting for that team, or known someone who did," Al continued, ignoring his brother's very obvious discomfort. "I'm fine with it, really. Well, the idea, at least, it'll just take me a little getting used to seeing you with..men...though, I think."

Ed's eyes brightened, though his blush lingered longer than his frown had. "Really Al? That...that means a lot to me."

"You know I could never love you less for something like that, right brother?"

"Right!" The tone of Ed's voice betrayed the fact that he hadn't been quite that sure. If Al was ok with it though, then maybe he really had nothing to worry about with just telling him...

"So, just to confirm, is this person male?"

Ed nodded.

"Ok then. How many questions is that? Nine, right? That's what I thought. So, he's in the military, taller than you and has black hair. Is he an officer or NCO?"

"That's not a yes or no question, but he's an officer."

"Wait, is a warrant officer commissioned?"

"It's not Falman!"

"...Ed...is he a State Alchemist?"

"Um, yeah."

Al took a deep breath, fighting his rising anger. If it was who he knew it had to be...there were so many things wrong with that!

"Hmph. Well, the way I see it there are only two people who fit that description. Seeing as Kimblee was a psychopathic maniac, and killed by Scar, I know he's out."

"Look, Al..."

Al stood up sharply. "Ed! What are you thinking! You can't be with him! Isn't there a law or something against seeing your commanding officer? You could both get court martials! That's beside the fact that he's more than a decade older than you!"

Clenching his fists tightly, Ed bowed his head. "You think I don't know that?! That _he _doesn't know that? It could ruin his career! His one goal in life has been to become furer! He can't do that if he gets kicked out of the military!"

"What about you Ed? What about your career? Have you given a thought to that?!"

"Yeah, well, if I get kicked out I could always be a civilian contractor or something. They want my skills too badly to get rid of me completely. He won't be given that chance. I know, better than anyone, that if the military was taken away from him it would crush him."

"Then what are you two thinking?! Why are you doing this to yourselves?!"

At this, Ed raised his head, looking at his brother defeatedly. "I don't know..." he whispered.

Feeling guilty for making his brother look so dejected, Al sighed. He sat down on the couch next to the elder and put an arm around his shoulders. "How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"Six months..."

"That long? Wow, you've done a pretty good job hiding it."

"Yeah, I suppose. I think Hawkeye might know though, but she hasn't said anything."

"Do you like being with him? I had always thought you two hated each other."

Ed chuckled. "Yeah, well, you know what they say about the line between hate and...liking someone."

Al grinned mischievously and corrected the other. "I think you mean hate and _love_ Ed." As his brother blushed and started to stammer something, Al cut him off. "If you're not _there_ though, that's fine."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It just happened kind of fast, you know? Like...it was just a regular meeting, he was calling me _short_ and I was calling him a bastard, then the next thing we knew we were going at it like animals."

"Ed!" This time it was Al's turn to blush.

"Yeah, so we haven't really talked about it much, but the more time we spend together, the more I _want_ to spend time with him, if that makes sense."

"You two don't even talk? How is that a relationship?"

"Well, we do _talk_, just not about...relationshippy...thingies."

Al gave him a pointed look. "You know, when it comes to being in a relationship, it's usually considered healthy for couples to acknowledge that it exists."

"Hey, it's not like we're in denial or anything. Just...putting a label on what we have seems like it would ruin it, you know? I do like what we have."

Nodding, Al asked, "Do you want it to be more?"

"I don't know...maybe. I mean, we're actually pretty good together. Like, he's all level-headed and stuff, where I'm...not so much." Al giggled. "I love to eat and he's an awesome chef. Which isn't surprising, really, the damn pyromaniac." Though he sounded rude, his tender expression softened the affectionate insults.

"Haha, I can honestly say I wouldn't have expected that."

"Yeah, well, it's the little things, too. Like how he can't sing to save his life, or he'll forget to take off his gloves before he goes to bed when he's exhausted. Heh, not to mention he really knows how to dress to impress."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

Ed grinned wickedly, shooting his brother a devious look. "Besides, the sex is fantastic!"

Al's hands flew to cover his ears. "EEEED!!! _NOT_ SOMETHING I WANTED TO KNOW!!"

"Hehehe, well, it's true! You know, if you were wanting advice with Winry, I'm sure he'd have some great pointers for you."

"_EEEEEEEEEEED!!"_

***

El fin. (though I'm debating on whether or not to do a sequel where Al gets curious about...logistics)

Written because I had the idea, love RoyEd, and thought it would be cute. Also, I've had to deal with similar issues with family, and it's really awesome when you can be there for someone like that, when they trust you and value your opinion enough to want your acceptance.

This is dedicated to you dearie, though you'll probably never see it! Love you bunches, no matter what!


End file.
